Feels Like Yesterday
by Lighting.Up.Thee.Sky
Summary: "Rika, what were you thinking? Did you not understand that I would have given everything up for you?" Ryo exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. Looking at the girl he loved for the first in five years. For the first time in his life he was speechless.
1. Chapter 1

_Bare with me please, this is my first ever Digimon story. I have written for other stories, so this will be intersting. I do not for sure know if this has been done with this pairing or not, so if I used somebody elses idea, I am apologizing now. Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon! I wish I did though._

**[][][]**

Rika Nonaka bit her nails as the clock was running out. Shinjuku was down by two points and the Tokyo Warriors was taking the lead. Takuya was dribbling the ball while Ryo was doing his best to get open as Henry jumped up and down to block the other opponents. Takuya glanced back and forth and saw Ryo was finally open, with six seconds on the clock remaining. Without thinking, he threw the ball over to Ryo, letting the other team's guard down.

Ryo took one quick glance at the stands, sending a wink towards his favorite girl in the world, Rika Nonaka. He focused his attention back on the score board. All of the heat was on him, and the stands were getting louder as the time was running out. He closed his eyes and took one shot, the shot that would determine the game... The ball swished through the basket, leaving the Shinjuku fans screaming and cheering.

The cheerleaders, students, and fans ran out onto the basketball court.

"Ryo, Ryo, Ryo." Henry and the team cheered, before placing him on their shoulders. Ryo smiled and laughed along with his teamates. He glanced above the crowd and noticed Rika standing off to the side, waiting impatiently like she always does after the games. A grin escaped from his lips.

There was a different look placed upon her face though, he couldn't quite placed it. He wasn't for sure if he had even seen it before. He thought to himself for a few seconds, over the loud crowd. He tried to anyways.

His teammates placed him back on the crowd and chanted his name. This meant they were going to Tournaments.

Takuya gave off a loose goofy grin, "Tournaments my man!" He and Henry high-fived Ryo, congraluating him to the winning three-point shot he previously made. Ryo chatted quickly before darting off to find his girlfriend. He enjoyed all of the supporters but his main concern was seeing his girlfriend at this moment.

He shuffled around the mobs of people and made his way to the corner where Rika was standing by herself. Before he got over there, his coach pulled him aside. "Ryo, this is Mitsuo Yamaki. He is the basketball coach from Tokyo University. He is impressed with your teamwork and has been watching you for some time now. He would like to have a word with you."

Ryo wanted to roll his eyes but the excitement was to big for him. He had been looking into playing basketball at Tokyo University since he was a little boy. His mother, before she passed away, graduated from Tokyo.

"Hello, I am Ryo Akiyama. Nice to meet you Mr. Yamaki." Ryo held out his hand and warmly greeted with the man who was dressed in a pair of slacks and a Tokyo jacket. He looked rather casual to be the star head coach for a basketball team of a major university.

Mr. Yamaki looked the boy up and down and smiled. He would make a great improvement to the team. "Please son, come over here with me. We need to talk." Ryo followed the man, shooting a glance over at Rika, letting her know it would be awhile. He was fidigiting with excitement.

**[][][]**

Alice McCoy, the daughter of the professor Rob McCoy who teaches at Palo Alto University, stood beside her bestfriend Rika. She was just as excited as the boys about them winning the game. This meant that the they had a fair chance in the tournament games that would begin in the following week.

"Henry is going to be in such a good mood tonight. I really thought that they were going to lose the game. Luckily for Ryo, he is lucky." Alice started to talk about the game. She was going on before she noticed a change in Rika's attitude. Normally she would throw in a few comments or discuss the game, but tonight there was something off with her. She was not saying much and she looked scared.

"Rika?" Alice spoke up, shaking Rika out of her thoughts.

Rika looked up and placed a small smile on her face. "Oh yeah, sorry. I am glad they won too. Now if only the guys would hurry up. I am hungry."

Alice smiled, "There, that is the Rika I know. Complaing because she is hungry."

Rika nodded her head and laughed nervously.

Rika jumped when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waste. "Hey Wildcat, sorry it took so long. I am sure you are hungry." Ryo laughed as he planted a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek. He overheard their conversation about being hungry.

"It's about time. You know you take a long time for a pretty boy." Rika grinned and poked his chest.

Henry and Takuya made their way out of the locker room. Fresh water rolling down their foreheads from their damp mobs of hair. Their bags were draped over their shoulders and they looked exhausted. "Guess who has a full ride to Tokyo University for basketball next year." Henry coed, patting Ryo's back.

Rika's eyes widened and she grinned as she and Alice looked at Ryo. He smiled widely as Henry and Takuya sang, "Ryo does."

Ryo smiled and tried not to act to excited about it. If anyone saw him though, they would think he just left a candy shop. "That is awesome, congratulations." Rika said through her teeth. She felt herself getting sick and suddenly everything felt dizzy.

"Rika are you okay?" Ryo asked after Rika stumbled backwards a bit, almost losing her balance.

Rika nodded her head and bit her lip. "I'm not feeling very well, I think I am just going to go home. You guys go ahead and have a fun night."

Ryo raised his eyebrows and was rather questioning his girlfriend. He knew her well, and there was something else wrong then her just not feeling good. He couldn't pick up on it though. By the looks of how she was acting, she wanted to talk about it. "You guys go ahead, i'll catch up later. I am going to take Rika home, then i'll be over later."

Henry watched Rika walk with Ryo, the two keeping a fair amount of distance between each other. "So what do you think is up?" Henry spoke up as soon as they walked away. He knew his two bestfriends, and something was definitely not right. There was something wrong with Rika and Ryo was not the only one who noticed. Henry and Alice picked up on it as well.

Jerri appeared with two bags of popcorn and handed one to Henry and Takuya, "here you guys go. Man working concession stand blows." The girl blew her bangs out of her face but still had a smile plastered on her face. Sometimes, she was just to bubbly.

**[][][]**

Ryo drove home, his eyes on the wheel as Rika didn't dare move nor say anything. She kept her blue coloured eyes focused on the snowy road ahead of her. Ryo turned left and stopped at the stop sign before turning right towards her house. He pulled into the driveway and turned off his lights. The way Rika sat there in her seat, her eyes filled with uneasiness and concern, it was staring to worry him.

Before Ryo could ask what was wrong, Rika spoke up first. "So how excited are you for your career at Tokyo University next fall?"

After a slight hint of confusion Ryo grinned from ear to ear. He had been hoping for this offer for awhile now and now that it finally came, nothing was going to be able to bring his mojo down. Not even the snow storm that was coming his way. "I am so excited Rika. Coach says I better take this spot, and once my father comes home next weekend from his business trip he will be so proud of me. I know my mother would be too. I have been wanting this since I was little."

Rika faked a smile on her face. She was not expecting what he had told her tonight, if anything, she was expecting to tell him what was on her mind and what was really bothering her.

"This is my dream Rika." Ryo grinned and grabbed her cold fingers. The smile was getting bigger and bigger on his face, "And you can come too. I know they have accepted you there. This is awesome, we can go to college together and study abroad. And the absolute best part is, I know you will come to my games and route me on just like now. That means a lot to me."

The feeling knowing that her future was already planned out, regardless of them going to college or not together was making her nauseous. Ryo's dreams were coming true, they were really coming true. The worst part of it was, if she knew she stayed, she would be crushing them and ruining his life. That was the last thing she would ever want to happen.

Rika looked away, watching the tiny snowflakes fall out the window. If it was true, what the scientists said that there was no snowflake alike, then maybe she and Ryo weren't so much alike.

Ryo frowned, noticing the excitement drift away from his girlfriend. "Rika, is something wrong? I mean if you don't want to me to take the basketball scholarship I'll turn it down. It isn't worth losing you." He always had a way with words. Rika never hated his words more than anything at that point in time.

She turned to look at him, locking blue with brown eyes, "Ryo, no I am happy for you. It is what you have always wanted, but I need to tell you something. I am leaving, tomorrow morning. I have to go." She placed her left hand on the passenger door handle.

Ryo frowned, giving her a weird look. He let out a let a nervous laugh. Where was she going? On a modeling trip or what. Why was she being so distant. "Well that is fine, we can talk more when you get back. That's all right Wildcat, no need to get upset about that."

Tears were forming in the seventeen year old girls eyes. She never cried, never. Not since her father left when she was a young child. She swore she hated him, but at this moment, she was thankful he was going to be in her future. She couldn't ruin Ryo's future, she would never allow that to happen. He had so much going for himself.

"Ryo, I am leaving. I am leaving for good. Don't you understand that? I have to go. I need to go. Have fun and good luck for your games, but I don't see you in my future. You have your own future to live up to. I won't allow myself to ruin that for you." She choked her words out as she swung the Jeep door open.

Ryo's eyes became big. Where was she getting all of this stuff from? "Rika what are you talking about? You aren't ruining my future. Why are you leaving? Why are you leaving me? Leaving us?"

The tears filled her eyes and she couldn't talk anymore. It took her everything to say what she had to say, "I have to go. Don't let me hold you back. Trust me." She closed the door on him and ran up to the stairs of her house. She didn't even look back to watch him leave or see if he was following her. All she knew was that she needed to leave and the only person she could turn to now was the person who left her a long time ago. She never knew that she would ever be running away from her problems until now.

**[][][]**

Rika closed her eyes, swallowed her saliva and headed towards the terminal. She had nothing left to say except for the goodbye to her mother and her grandmother. "Goodbye Japan, hello America."

**[][][]**

_Thank you everyone for reading this chapter. I know a lot of it didn't make sense, but it will as I update more. I hope you all enjoy it and please review(: only if you want to though. Imput means a lot to me. _


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, I would like to thank those who reviewed my story, I really appreciate it(: It means a lot to me.

Chapter Two;

**[][][]**

Twenty-two year old Rika Nonaka sat on the couch in New Jersey, her feet propped up on the coffee table. She blinked a few times before picking up her cell phone. "Hello mother." She chimed, almost to excited for her normal tone of voice.

Rika nodded along as she listened to all of the things her mother had to say. She really didn't care to hear about the grocery list or that Ralph Lauren had fired his recent model and the job offering was still open. She didn't need modeling to be her career. What she needed was to be a responsible young adult who was graduating from college tomorrow.

"Mother, how are things in Shinjuku?" Rika asked, emphasising on her former city. The place she once had called home.

"Oh it is the same old thing honey. You are not missing much. Your grandmother is anxious to fly tonight to come and see you. We all are actually. We are at the airport right now, waiting at the terminal. We still have a two hour lay over-" Rika groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I am not going to talk your ear off for two hours." Rumiko said blunty, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her plump lips.

"Thank god." Rika muttered, getting her butt off of the couch. She motioned for the little girl to stay quiet and pointed to her phone for silence. The girl nodded her head and made her way over the plush recliner. She climbed up into it and rested her head on the arm.

Rika walked into the kitchen, grabbing the container of orange juice. She carefully poured it into the glass and walked into the living room and handed it to the little girl who was looking rather sleepy, even after her nap. "Oh dear, Alice asked about you the other day. I told her that you were doing great and that you loved New Jersey."

Rika grinned, "Course mom, Jershey Shore. Duhh." Rika actually didn't mind Jersey Shore except for the fact that all of the girls were fake, incredibly slutty, and they were annoying. But the guys were not half bad looking. Especially the guys who occupied the beaches around the local area. Her dad sure did pick a great area to live.

"Well I am going to get off of here. I will be sure to let you know when we land in the states. You said your father is picking us up at JFK at six tomorrow morning right?" Rumiko groaned loud enough so Rika could hear it.

A small laugh escaped from the girls lips. "I know, I know you guys hate each other, but could you pretend to get along tomorrow. Not for my sake, but Alexis's?" Rika retored to the small figure who was twirling her hair through her child-like fingers in the other room.

"I'll do it for her."

"Thanks mom." Rika smiled.

"Your welcome honey. Bye now, love you."

"Love you too mom." Rika hung up the phone and leaned against the counter. It had been awhile since she had seen her mother and her grandmother. Probably since she was eighteen years old. Not that she didn't miss her mom, it was the fact that flying home to Japan was expensive and it was hard going country to country while being a student at a community college. Not that she minded going to a community college, it was cheaper, but it was still time consuming.

**[][][]**

"Rika Nonaka." Rika smiled and stood up out of her chair and headed towards the front of the stage. All eyes were on her and everyone was cheering. She even heard her dad whisteling like a maniac. The spotlight was on her. Her class was cheering along with her, and the moment she had been waiting for was finally here. A toothy grin escaped from her mouth as she shook the dean's hand and a muttered a thank-you when he said "congratulations" like he did to every student.

"Yeah mommy!" The little girl echoed from the crowed and several 'awes' escaped from her graduating class. Majority knew who Alexis was and found her to be the most adorable thing they had ever seen. Rika smiled and proceeded down the stairs and back to her seat. Her daughter meant everything to her. There was no way she would ever let something bad happen to her.

...

Rika threw her hat up in the air, just like graduation from high school and glanced into the crowds. Everyone was cheering, sharing their excitement with the students. After five years of college, Rika was not quite sure where she was going from there. She had just majored in Media publications and was working towards an editing job where she could read for her job.

She wasn't use to reading and in fact she actually hated it until she moved to the America's. Americans are use to reading and encourage those around them. "It's a way of losing yourself into someone else's reality and the best part is that you can compare it to everyday life." Rika couldn't help but nod her head along to her old English teacher's words of wisdom.

She trailed along the seats, slowly gathering behind her fellow classmates. They were huddled together for a group picture. Relentlessly, Rika was pulled into the picture and she placed on one of her pictures.

"I'll Facebook it for you." One of the students muttered before snatching their camera away from their parents. Rika preceded making her way towards her family members. They were standing off to the side, each dressed in a dress while her dad was dressed in a pair of slacks and a top hat. Only him, she thought.

"Congratulations sweety." Rumiko fastened her daughter into a hug and soon released her to Seiko who pulled her into another tight bearing hug. Next she gave her father a quick hug, hoping that they were all behaving together. Soon enough she scooped Alexis into her arms and pulled her close. "Were you good?"

Rika raised her eyebrows and directed that question towards her parents. "Yes, yes she was."

"Good." Rika planted a kiss on Alexis's forehead and placed her back onto the ground. She couldn't help but notice how fast she was growing and even though she was taller for her age and underweight, she was starting to become a lot heavier then she was a few years ago.

Rumiko stared at Alexis as Rika was chatting with Seiko and her father. She resembled him in more ways then Rika failed to realize. Or if she did, she never once mentioned it. Alexis was built thin like her mother, but she had the strength like her father. She was a strong girl and she was always persistent, just like Rika was when she was that age. Alexis contained the bluest of the eyes, the same eyes that ran through Ryo and his deceased mother's side of the family. She smiled just like him and in more ways then not, she contained several of his best traits.

"Mother." Rika snapped Rumiko out of her transe. She glanced up and smiled, pretending she wasn't comparing Alexis to Ryo, even though Rika knew better than that.

"Yes dear?"

Rika smiled softly, "Gradmother is taking Alexis to go do some small shopping and get ice cream, while dad, you and I go back to the house to talk. You know catch up on things, important things."

**[][][]**

"Alice asked me to give this to you." Rumiko opened her travel bag and pulled out a small box that was taped up. Rika crinkled her eyebrows, hesitating to the take the package that was lying in front of her. Should she take it, or should she throw it away?

Rika tossed it onto the counter and walked around into the living room. Her apartment was a small area, but tidy for the most part. Somehow she managed a job, a child, keeping an apartment cleaned and college. Whoever said she couldn't do it, well she did.

"Thanks."

Rika's father, James walked around the room, resting upon the walls occasionally. Rumiko was rather quiet then normal.

"So what exactly has been going on at home?" Rika referred to Shinjuku as home, just like she had since she left. It might not be home to her anymore, but it would always have a spot in her heart though.

Rumiko smiled, "Well I ran into your friends the other day when I went to Takato's family baker. I was craving some homemade bread, so I stopped along after doing some mainstreet shopping. By the way, they have some really cute boots you may like."

Rika rolled her eyes, her mother had not changed one bit. Always relying on fashion to make her happy when Rika's absence took presidence.

"Anywho, a few of your friends were there. Alice was sitting in a booth with Henry. Did you know that they are engaged? He asked her a few weeks ago around Easter break. And Takato and Jeri are still going strong, but they are still incredibly shy around each other. Kenta and Kazu have become quite the salesman for the Hypnos corporation."

Rika frowned at the word Hypnos. It brought back so many wonderful memories. Even at the age of twenty-two, she still often thought about her childhood that tore her apart and built her into the person that she is today. If it wasn't for Renamon, the D-Reaper, and all of her wonderful friends, she might as well be a lost cause to society.

"Ryo-" Rumiko paused, examining her daugther's face for a reaction. Instead it was blank and Rika focused on the carpet as her mother continued to speak again. "He is going pro now for basketball. He graduated college about a year ago and is playing for the Tokyo Falcons."

Rika giggled and looked at her dad, "I should have bought a falcon."

James started to laugh and stopped looking at Rumiko who looked as confused as possible. "Oh it's an american television commercial."

Rumiko just rolled her eyes and continued on filling Rika in on the details that she had missed out on for the last five years of her life. "He is going pro and has been exploring the world. I haven't seen him in a long time, but he is on the television quite often. Wait I take that back, he was at a modeling shoot for a sports magazine while I was being interviewed on my job. He glanced at me and gave a smile but I could not talk to him."

Rika sighed and plopped down onto the couch. Five years ago it seemed like a good idea to run away from her problems, but now that Alexis was getting older she was going to begin to wonder who her father is and where Rika grew up. She is going to start to answer questions and she can't lie to her. She knew what it was like to grow up living a sort of lie and she refused to place Alexis through it.

"Well that is good, I am glad that everyone is doing great. Especially Ryo." Rika meant every word that she said of it. If Ryo had known that Rika was pregnant, he wouldn't have been able to play basketball or live his dream. He would have thrown it all away, and she would not allow it. Especially since it would be a dissapointment to his father, instead of a great excitement.

"Are you sure he does not know? I mean you guys never told anyone right?" Rika asked, blinking a few times.

Rumiko hesitated before looking at her daughter. "Rika you are going to have to come home sometime. Ryo has to know eventually. You can't just keep it from him that he has a child. I can see why you kept it long as you did. You were protecting him and Alexis, but eventually she is going to wonder who her dad is."

Rika hated when her mother was right. She hated it when she was a child and she still does. Her mom had a valid point, but she couldn't just come and see Ryo, especially without five years of contact.

A small snort escaped from her mouth, "Great suggestion mom. I will hop on a plane tomorrow, fly back to Japan, go to his front door with Alexis and be like bastard you owe me child support for the last four and a half years of her life. Okay thanks."

Rumiko rolled her eyes as James stiffeled a giggle. Sarcasm was one of Rika's best trademarks. Everyone knew it too well.

"Well you say it like that, then yes. You are going to have to tell him. At least come home with us and see how he is doing. You can't avoid this forever. I will let the decision up to you because you are her parent, but Ryo is too. I think Ryo would at least like to know who Alexis is. Or that she exists for that matter."

Rika groaned and threw herself onto the couch. She was grown up yes, but she sometimes she wanted to go back in time when things about her life were actually simple and she didn't have to worry about making the right decisions or not.

"But..." Rika's voice trailed off as James spoke up. "Look Rika I know I walked out on you and that was the biggest mistake of my life. I regretted not being apart of your life and once you found me again, telling me that you were pregnant and you wanted to come to America, that was my chance all over again to make things better. I got to know the girl that I left. If Ryo is like what you and your mother have been saying, then he is going to want to know Alexis and be apart of her life."

Another sharp groan came from the girls soft lips. "I know. Alright fine."

Rumiko sat on the couch and rubbed Rika's back. "We still have a day before we leave, lets go celebrate."

Rika smirked and sat up. "I am only leaving with Alexis to Japan, if dad goes." Rumiko rolled her eyes and groaned, knowing very well that he would probably be staying in their house as well.

"Fine."

**[][][]**

Rika wasn't for sure if it was the air travel, the food, the never ending questions that Alexis was asking, or the corny jokes that her father was making, but either way she was nervous and she felt like she was about to be sick. She wasn't use to traveling almost twenty-two hours across the country.

"Welcome to Tokyo." Rika stepped off the plane and walked through the terminal. It was hard being home for the first time in over five years. The airport still looked the same as she had left it. Maybe a few renovatioins here and there, but the layout was still the same. And this was the same terminal that she left on. A sappy feeling surrounded her stomach and left her feeling like she was about to puke.

"How does it feel to be home honey?" Seiko placed a reassuring hand on her granddaughter's shoulder and offered a soft smile; one that Rika could not return.

Rika traced her mind for the right word that she wanted to use. She couldn't use awesome or she was hating it, because those weren't options. It was... "Different?" She did her best to sound convincing. They took her word though, knowing not to press the subject even more.

She walked towards the luggage claim, streching her arms out from the long extended flight. Her short, thin legs extended as she took extra big strides to help shake out the jittery feeling that took over her stomach. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a mob full of people, all wearing matching jeans and pull over jackets. They were walking and talking as a mob of reporters followed them towards the luggage exchange.

"Alexis hang over here with Grandma and Seiko as I go grab our bag's with papa, alright?" Rika placed Alexis down and headed towards the luggage claim with her father. Unlike her mom and grandma, they actually had a suitcase instead of a large carryon bag.

"Ahh here we are." James grabbed his and Alexis's luggage and Rika grabbed hers.

Rika frowned and out of the corner of her eye she noticed that the mob was coming closer and her heart sank when she noticed in the front of the pack was a tan, well built male. He had the brightest blue eyes and a charming smile that lit up the whole room. Her heart started to speed up and without an explanation her palms began to sweat. Yep, she was on the verge of trying to keep her insides intact.

Across the lobby, Rika noticed that the boy stopped in his tracks and squinted his eyes together and tried looking around the reporters. He was staring right at her, with a confused expression written across his flawless face. He was trying to peer around them, his eyes were not moving away from her body.

James noticed the hesitation in her daughter. She looked as pale as a ghost and she didn't look like she felt well. "Are you okay Rika?"

Rika shook back into reality. "Just fine." And she turned on her heels and headed towards the entrance where her mother had gotten a limo for them to ride back to the house in. Of course a cab would have done just fine, but not according to Rumiko. She wanted Alexis to experience her first limosuine ride.

**[][][]**

_Thanks everyone for reading chapter two. Some more support would do wonders for me (: I would love to see some more reviews and your guys's opinions towards this. This chapter was a longer one, just because I did not feel like stop writing. I hope that you do enjoy it! Please read and review! I have no idea what Rika's dad name was, so at first I picked Jerry, almost forgetting about the girl character Jeri. So I changed his name to James! He reminds me of a James. _


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, thanks everyone for your totally-awesome reviews. I hope you are enjoying this story just as much as I am. I enjoy writing it, and Rika's personality is very different than it is in the show.. but do not worry, she will show some of the traits that she possessed when she was a child, before the digimon occurence took place. As always, thanks again...

**Chapter Three;**

Ryo Akiyama, Aka, the Tokyo Falcon's basketball star. He doesn't go anywhere without his mouthguard and he is addicted to yellow gatorade. Also he is on a strict no soda diet along with limited fast food. His trainer says, "An apple a day, will keep us doctors away." A roll eye escaped his eyes as he had finished eating his meal at the aiport. His team and he were heading towards the luggage claim. It was nice to finally be home for a few weeks before traveling again.

Along the incredibly, never-ending stretch through the airport, he noticed a petite figure with a man who appeared to resemble her in several ways. She had piercing blue eyes and her smile was incredible. She had red hair that extended halfway down her back. She looked awfully familiar, like he had known her from high school or soemthing.

Ignoring the reporters, he scanned past them, trying to get a better picture of the girl. "Rika?" He said aloud, shaking all of the reporters. They all surrounded him and he lost view of the girl as she darted around the corner, pulling onto her luggage tightly. He wanted to follow her except for the reporters were already surrounding him, questioning him why he said the name Rika.

"Excuse me sir, did you just say Rika?" One held a microphone close to his face as his assistant was writing everything Ryo had said down onto a pad of paper.

Ryo pushed passed them, his team following. "I read a sign over there. Go find it, or something."

He rolled his eyes, papparatzi was overwhelming somtimes. They followed you like hound dogs. They found you and continously stuck their nose into their business. The name Rika shook back into his memory. There was no way that girl was her, she just looked like her in a few ways. He blocked her out of his mind for the most part and he tried not to think about her consiously. On the other hand, he thought he subconsiously thought about her all the time. When he was asleep, she was who dreamt off and in the morning it either put him in a really good mood, bad mood or a melancholy mood. Either way, it was not much of a win-win situation.

**[][][]**

Rika stared out the limosuine window, hard to believe she grew up here so long ago. All of the times where she and Renamon would sneak off too while her mother was out working hard on her career. Or the times she would meet Ryo at the park- she stopped her self from thinking of those times. She never let herself think about it much, it was not worth the heartache afterwards.

"So they tore down the school and rebuilt another one?" Rika shook her head in disbelief. "That is ridiculous, they built one when I was in highschool." Seiko and Rumiko agreed with her on that subject. Another new high school was not needed.

"This place sure has changed." Rika remembered how the park benches were wooden and they became metal(way to be a sitting billboard for lightening), the trees were not Oak as much anymore; pine trees covered most of the empty achres of land and the country roads were no longer dirt. They became paved, just like the town had.

Even as the small things changed, it suddenly didn't make her feel like she was at home anymore. She rubbed Alexis's hair as she was fast asleep in the limo. Traveling at such a young age must have been difficult for the poor child.

Rumiko gave off a small smile towards her daugther, "If only you know the half of it."

Rika yawned, figuring that a nap might be good for herself before she arrived back at home.

**[][][]**

Alice groaned, resting her head onto the table of her work area. She was exhausted. Hypnos had to be one of the worst jobs out there. Okay not really, but she was constantly tired by monitoring the Digiworld and the projects that dealt with it. After two days of no sleep, she was craving for not only a Starbucks coffee, but a nap and some time with her fiance Henry as well.

"Alice, I believe you have some company." Another worker muttered as she walked by in hope to continue her research. Alice's freshly plucked eyebrows raised and she looked over to the doorway to find a shaggy haired brunette with Henry.

"Ryo Akiyama, well I'd be darned." Alice grinned, trying to remember the last time she had seen Ryo, let alone hold a stable conversation with him. She liked seeing the grin on his face. For the longest time, it was always a scowl or a sad look that rested upon his facial features.

Ryo let lose another grin, "My second favorite girl in the whole world."

As tired and mopey as Alice was, she ran out of her seat and found herself being embraced by her old friend's muscular arms. She gave him a heavy push, "What do you mean second favorite?"

Ryo rolled his shining blue eyes and held her tight. "Yeah second."

She pushed away, "Who is the first?"

"Well about that, I have a new girlfriend. Her name is Zoe." (I like the name Zoe, and I figured i'd steal her name from the other series)

Alice stepped back in astonishment, "Zoe?"

Ryo nodded his head in response. He was not for sure how everyone would take that he had a new girlfriend. He knew all of his friends would be happy for him and support him, but deep down they all had a sense of hope that someday he and Rika would be together. Truth be told, he lost that dream a long time ago, and let the hope rise to the sky. It just wasn't happening.

Alice was just as shocked as Henry was. "So do I get to meet her?"

Ryo looked down at his watch and glanced around Hypnos. Things did look different and the smell was filled with a coffee scent, and everything smelled fresh. They must have remodeled the whole place. It was completely different than what he was use to as a child. "Actually, she is in Russia right now, but in a week, she will be home. I met her traveling on a basketball tour a few months ago. I think you all would like her, she is awesome."

Henry spoke up for the first time since Ryo had spilled the news about his new girlfriend, "I am glad. Just remember, long distant relationships don't exactly work all the time. So don't get your hopes up."

Henry didn't mean to sound harsh about it, but ever since the whole ordeal with Rika, he was cautious over his bestfriend. He watched Ryo go into massive states of chronic depression for months. College basketball to pro basketball had to have been the best thing for him. He was world wide famous. And if he knew Rika like he thought he did, she grieved just as much as he did. She had her reasons to go, and he knew that. He was the only one who knew that.

Before Ryo could answer to Henry, his phone rang out loud. Fall Out Boy echoed throughout the building, causing all of the workers to look up at him, giving him a sharp scowl.

"I'll be back."

**[][][]**

Ryo sighed, sitting down in a chair next to Alice, "what is his problem? He is always a grouch towards me anymore. Every time I come home, he seems like he is pmsing and mind you Takato is enough for me."

Alice giggled, knowing very well what was wrong with Henry. He knew something that nobody else knew, and he would never spill that secret for the life of him. He was the only one who knew anything about Rika.

"He will come around, don't you worry, he always does." Alice stared towards the doorway wondering what Henry was doing. With work taking up most of her time, it was like she and Henry were in opposite worlds.

Ryo watched Alice's eyes fade from happiness to a hint of sadness, a sight that he could not read. Was there something going on that he did not know about? After being on the road all of the time, he felt like he was losing himself and his friendship.

**[][][]**

"Very well." Henry muffled into the phone while he was shuffling down the corridor to make sure no one was aware of his conversation. "Rika, alright now what, sorry Hypnos is so loud and nosey, remind me again why I hate coming here." His voice relaxed and he plopped down onto a wooden bench, hoping to relax a bit before dealing with Ryo and Alice.

"I am back, back home Henry." The words poured out from Rika's mouth and Henry's eyes buldged out, almost popping a blood vessel. Say what? "Rika, are you serious?"

"Yeah I am dead serious. And this time I brought Alexis with me, she seems to like mom's house. She keeps poking at the paintings and statues and asking Grandma to read her a story. And the weird part is, even dad is here too. We haven't been in this house as a family in years." Henry noticed the odd adjustment in Rika's voice when she spoke about her parents.

Henry was still in shock, his mouth was wide open. "Rika are you serious, not like pulling a string or anything right?" Henry regained his composure and sat up for the first time in a long time, he felt a different sort of excitement. He wanted to see Rika and talk about the things that they use to spend hours talking about. He wanted to be a teenager again and laugh about the good times.

He was physically exhausted of the real world and his relationship with Alice was crumbling into pieces. The worst part of it was that he did not know where to begin to help improve things. He was falling, and falling hard.

"No Henry I am for real. I think I am going to tell Ryo about Alexis too. My mom says that he deserves to know and he does, as well as she does." Rika's voice became really quiet when she spoke Ryo's name. She didn't speak about him much, at least not to him anyways.

Henry blinked a few times, not exactly knowing how to mention the fact that Ryo has a girlfriend. It was either he tell and she find out, or he tells her and she never goes and sees him.

"Henry you there?" Rika asked, shaking Henry from his thoughts.

"Rika there is something you should know..."

**[][][]**

Sorry for this short chapter, It is just out there. Please review though, and since Thanksgiving break is coming up, I will have more time to update(:


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4;**

Henry paused and glaced up when he heard Ryo calling his name. He whispered into his phone, "I have to go, I'll explain later." He hung up before Ryo could hear what he had to say or Rika's protest and angry remarks towards him hanging up on her.

"Oh sorry, did I interupt?" Ryo asked, hoping he didn't distrub Henry. Henry looked nervous and on edge.

He shook his head, "Nahh, it was just Susi calling to tell me her highschool problems and stuff. Can you believe she is a senior this year?" Henry shook his head in disblief, making his alibi real.

Maybe it was a sign that he shouldn't tell Rika that Ryo has a girlfriend.

Ryo grinned, "I remember her a lot. I remember how she always begged us to take her with us. I mean after the Digiworld, we really couldn't tell her no it was for big kids, because she had seen things that most people couldn't dream of seeing."

Henry nodded his head, "Yeah I know. Thank gosh she no longer asks to tag along everything." He paused, shoving his phone into his back pocket. "Instead, she just tags along and claims she can do what she wants. Kids these days."

"She use to have this biggest crush on me. And she would always tell Kazu off, especially when he would pull her hair and she always encouraged Rika to be mean to Kazu and Kenta." Ryo laughed, reflecting back in time when Rika and Kazu would always get into it.

Henry laughed as he was surprised in how Ryo mentioned Rika. He never talked about her.

"You said Rika?" Henry raised his eyebrows, prying into Ryo's business.

He looked surprised as well, "Yeah I guess I did. I think now that I have found somebody else, I am over her. I mean she doesn't even come into mind anymore. Good thing huh?" He laughed and ran his hand through his hair.

Henry smiled, thinking to himself. "Well look, we need to get the gang together, what about tonight? I mean all of us come together and meet up and hang out again. We could meet up at Takato's bakery."

Ryo nodded his head up and down, "Yeah sounds good to me. What time?"

Henry pressed his lips together and replied, "Seven."

Ryo nodded his head and turned around to leave Hypnos. He had some unpacking to do and possibly some quality time he should spend talking to his girlfriend over the phone and his father.

**[][][]**

Henry was exhausted. He threw his body onto the couch and picked up the remote to his television. Alice was suppose to be getting off work anytime soon. She was exhausted just like he was. Ryo's face wall over the Sports channels. It was winter time so basketball took control of the television programming. He was even on the news often.

He wasn't for sure if he should invite Rika tonight. After all, she just came back and she might not be that. He wasn't even for sure if he wanted Ryo knowing she was home. That was her call, not his.

Alice walked through the front door, dropping her bags on the table and headed towards the refrigerator. "I am so tired. I could sleep for weeks." She let out a yawn and swung the door open.

Henry stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "Me too."

She grinned, pouring herself a glass of milk. It was nice to finally be home for a few days without work. Hopefully then she could relax and finish planning the last bit of their wedding that was approaching in two weeks. "So I got your text, we are all meeting up at Takato's parents bakery tonight at seven?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, everyone. Me, you, Jerry, Susi, Kazu, Kenta, Ryo, and Takato. It is like having the whole gang back together like the good old days. You know before we all had to go and graduate and leave everyone."

She laughed, "Gosh it has been so long. This is going to be great. If only if Rika was here with us, then everyone would be together. We would all be laughing and doing crazy stuff. Even at the age of twenty-two, we still all can have fun. Gosh I miss her."

Henry frowned. He hated hiding the big secret about Rika from his fiance, but Rika made him promise. And he would never, ever break a promise towards his all time best friend. They told each other and still did.

"About that..." Henry muttered. He looked at Alice and took her hand. "Rika is coming tonight."

Alice dropped her glass of milk that was in her other hand and the milk splashed all over the floor. She cringed, bending down to get it. "Are you serious?"

Henry nodded his head. "Yeah I talked to her before you got home on the phone and she is home in Shinjuku. She is really home, back here home."

Alice grinned and almost squealed. "No freaking way. You have to be shitting me. Rika back home. After five years of being gone? Oh she has a lot of explaining to do tonight." Alice couldn't hide her excitement. Suddenly the urge of taking a nap went away and was replenished by the anxious feeling in her stomach.

"Wait a minute, who all knows this?"

Henry shoved his hands into his pockets after releasing Alice's hand. "Just you and I. Ryo doesn't know and I don't know how he is going to react seeing her. I mean he says he is over her and has a new girlfriend, but if he sees her a lot is going to change."

Alice sat down on the bar stool and gave Henry a sad look. "She is going to hurt him again."

Henry stood still, remaining silent. He didn't dare say a word. Ryo was the same thing Rika was to Henry except for Alice. They were best friends and after Rika left it almost tore Alice and Henry up. He took Rika's side and she took Ryo's side. "No she won't. She isn't back for Ryo. She's back for a different reason."

Alice stared at Henry and looked deep into his eyes. He knew something she didn't. "And what is that?"

He paused, looking up at her. "I'm sorry, I cannot tell you. I promised her I wouldn't and that is for her to tell everyone if she wishes."

She protested, throwing her slim arms in the air, "Come on Henry, I am your fiance for crying out loud. You have to tell me what exactly she is back for. I mean I miss her and all but after she left, everyone fell apart. The sarcasm and humor died down and Ryo pretty much died on the inside. If it wasn't for his basketball scholarship, he would have been nothing."

Henry looked Alice into her deep blue eyes, "Look Alice I am sorry but I cannot tell you, but if you knew why, you would understand too." Without another word he turned around and walked towards the couch and lied down on it, watching the news channel.

**[][][]**

Ryo took a walk in the park by himself. He knew he should be heading towards Takato's bakery to meet the others but he couldn't help take some time to think. He tried avoiding the whole spending to much time thinking to yourself, but he had a lot of things he wanted to sort through his head. He wasn't for sure if he was happy with another girl or not.

Sure she was nice and he felt like he could develop feelings for her over time, but he wasn't so sure. She was different and she didn't argue with him over anything. She was quiet and rarely spoke her opinion. He hated comparing her to Rika, but it was something he couldn't adjust to.

He kicked some leaves up that were lying on the ground. He still had another hour or so before it was dark and he had about twenty minutes to meet his friends. He wasn't for sure exactly where he was going or what he was doing.

Days like these were those where he missed Rika the most. He stopped when he saw a Mercedez sitting at the stoplight. Whoever it was was playing American music. He recognized it from the basketball tournaments that he would participate in when he was halfway across the world. Who could possibly be playing American hip hop in a Mercedez that had Shinjuku liscense plates?

He frowned and looked closer. He felt like his breath stopped when he swore he saw Rika in the vehicle jamming out to music. The light changed colors and he blinked again and the car was already down the road. "Nahh it couldn't have been." He laughed nervously and sat down on a park bench.

He shook his head and stared up at the clouds floating in the sky. He felt ridiculous. This was the second time today he swore he saw Rika. "I'm going insane." He muttered to himself and stood up, brushing off his jeans.

"You are going to be, if you keep talking to yourself like that." A man who looked like he was in his fourties grinned at Ryo and held a little girl's hand. She giggled, "Papa, what does that mean?"

Ryo stared at the little girl. She looked so innocent and precious. Something about her looked familiar, like he had seen her before.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah probably."

The girl tugged on the man's hand. "Papa, who is he." She pointed to Ryo with her finger and laughed. He looked down at her, "Alexis, don't point. Your mother would be dissapointed in you if she knew you did that. Now apologize to this man."

The girl that Ryo mentally noted was Alexis looked up at him and frowned, "I sowwy."

Ryo grinned and lowered himself towards her eye level. "It's alright, don't worry about it. Let me tell you what, do you like basketball?"

She looked up at grinned eagerly. "Mommy and I watch it all the time. She says it is her favorite sport."

Ryo laughed and stood up and looked up at the man. "Here, how about you take these. Ryo reached into his back pocket and pulled out three tickets. "These are to the Tokyo basketball tournament league passes. They stopped selling them months ago. There are three and VIP passes."

The little girls lit up, "We get to go to the game and watch?" Ryo smiled down at her. He loved when he made people smile.

The man generously smiled, "Thank you, but you don't have to do that sir."

Ryo half laughed, "Nahh it's alright, I want too. I needed to find people to give them to anyways, and she looks like a basketball fan anyways. My name is Ryo Akiyama."

The man let go of the little gir's hand for a second and shook Ryo Akiyama's hand, "James Leonard." (Okay here, I changed James' last name. I had Rika take on her mother's last name, Nonaka. She changed it after her dad left when she was little. At that time, he signed off all rights to her).

"Well I do hope to see you there. Well I would talk more, but I am going to meet some friends, so I will hopefully see you two there this weekend. Oh and Alexis" Ryo looked at the little girl again.

"Yeah?" She nibbled on her finger. James glanced at Ryo and held in his breath.

"The third ticket is for you to bring your mommy. This town could use some basketball fans." He laughed and started to walk towards Takato's family bakery. He glanced down at his watch and it was already seven. "Shit." he muttered.

**[][][]**

Rika sighed and stepped out of the car. "Here goes nothing." She said to noone but herself. She had just got done dropping her father off the local park so he could show Alexis around Shinjuku while she hung out with her friends that night.

She opened the door, the little alarm went off, alerting everyone that somebody had entered through the shop.

Henry was the first one to look over. She took it all in, the smell, the looks, and the way that she felt. She was nervous and shaky. She stared at all of her friends who were gathered around one of the back tables.

Henry looked so much older. He grown sideburns and he was fit. He wasn't bad looking and she rolled her eyes to herself. Alice was looking great as well and she actually wore other colors besides black. Hopefully she outgrew her goth obsession. Takato looked good and much older. He lost his baby face and Jerri looked like a model. She had this glow on her face that lit up the whole room. She smiled to herself, she was glad that Jerry was happy now. Kazu and Kenta looked tired and wornout, but still good. She wondered what they did with their lives these days. Part of her hoped they had grown up since then, and had mature. Everyone looked so much older. She sighed in relief when she saw that Ryo wasn't there.

"Rika." Henry ran towards her and threw his arms around her and pulled her into a bear hug. He held onto her tightly and she felt overwhelmed by his embrace. This was the first time in five years she had seen any of her friends. If she wasn't strong enough to hold the tears in, they would have came.

"I missed you." Rika whispered and held onto him.

After what felt like forever, she let go and everyone approached her. "Rika." Jerri cried out, tears were streaming out of her eyes. Rika rolled her eyes but smiled anyways. Jerri was always overly dramatic and overly sensitive.

"Hey everyone." Rika gave everyone hugs, one by one.

After all of the hugging and greeting was over, she sat was still standing with everyone.

Takato blinked a few times and grinned sheepishly. "You look great Rika. I am so shocked that you are here."

Rika grinned and nodded her head. "Me too, I feel like I haven't met any of you guys, even though I grew up with you all. It's like this place is strange to me. You know?"

"So why did you leave Rika?" Alice blurted out, narrowing her eyes at Rika. Everyone was dying to know the answer except for Henry, who already knew the answer. Rika sighed, knowing that the question was going to appear up sometime. She really didn't want to answer it, and there was no way she was telling them she had a kid. If anyone found out while she was home, it was Ryo.

The door alarm rang, but everyone including Rika was to engrossed in their conversations to realize who walked in. "I have my reasons." Rika answered. She was going to answer more in depth until a deep voice spoke up in a shaky manner, "Rika?"

Rika spun around along with everyone else and found Ryo standing there, his hair messed up from the windy weather. He stood there frozen in his footsteps. She felt her heart stop and she couldn't breathe. She looked at him and her heart was racing a hundred miles per hour. "Hello Ryo." Rika simply answered and put on a facade that nothing was wrong. Here she was and here he was. Simple as that, nothing more and nothing less.

**[][][]**

_Sorry to cut it off here. I know it just got to the good part. But next chapter, just wait and see will be worth reading. I don't fully know where I am going with this story and I am just winging it, with a small plot throughout this whole thing. Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing, I really do appreciate it. _

_Note: If you would like to see anything happen in this story, anything particular, put in your review and i'll try and add it into the story. Any props, lines, ect.. just review and I'll see what I can do. Thanks again._

_Please read and review :)_


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all of the awesome reviews guys...

**Chapter 5;**

Ryo scratched his head nervously. It was a nervous habit and he blinked a few times. He wasn't for sure how he was feeling. At that moment, he was looking at the girl he swore if he ever saw her again he would say and do so many things. But of course when she was standing there, five years later, fully matured and his mind was blank as a pelucid piece of paper.

She had a small smile on her face, nothing big, nor small. It was a fake smile he could tell easily. He was decifiring her from the last time he saw her. She looked different and a strange aura was surrounding her just by her body language.

"Hey." Ryo pulled himself together and gave off a cheesy, too-fake, smug smile. He gritted his teeth together and pretended like it was some sort of game who could keep their composure more.

He raised his head, "So it was you I saw driving by listening to American music?" He asked, bringing up a small conversation. Takota started awkwardly whisteling as Henry was suddenly interested in the new wall clingings that Takota's mother had purchased last weekend.

She nodded her head, biting her lower lip enough to keep herself calm and relaxed. Her insides were bubbling like crazy but she had built her wall back up since she had left. It was similiar to the one that she had when she was younger. Except this time, Ryo Akiyama wasn't taking it down.

"Sure was. Nothing else like some good old Kesha." Rika shrugged her shoulders.

Kazu was stuffing his face with a dinner roll, "What bout peaches?"

Rika sighed turning her attention to Kazu, the same idiot who drove her insane when she was a young, rebellious teenager. "No you idiot, Kesha. She is a singer."

Everyone looked at her like she was insane.

"She sounds like a fruit." Kenta backed up Kazu up, slightly stepping behind him. He knew how Rika was when they were younger and she could pounce any time even if they were five years older.

Rika shook her head, "I'll let you borrow my CD and when I am done, you better like her." Rika laughed, giving him a punch in the arm.

Ryo stared off at the window watching everyone's relfections through it. He was shocked how much Rika had changed. She didn't seem so violent anymore, she actually seemed like she was nice. And he wasn't the only one who had noticed it either.

Takota raised his eyebrows, "Rika nice to Kazu, I thought I'd never see the day."

Everyone stiffeled a laugh except for Rika. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Takato, "Just because I was nice this time, does not mean it will happen again."

Jerri spoke up, "Oh Rika how long are you staying in Shinjuku for?"

This grasped everyone's attention even Ryo's. He watched Rika's face turn into a confused look filled with lots uncertainty. He wasn't use to seeing Rika around here and he wasn't use to her not being uncertain. The last time he had seen her uncertain about something, it was the last time he saw her.

She shrugged her delicate shoulders, not knowing the answer herself. She wanted to say forever but she couldn't. She wanted to say she was leaving tomorrow but she couldn't. She didn't have a clue yet.

"Who knows, I'm not really for sure to tell you guys the truth. I guess we will see."

Ryo scoffed, he didn't realize he had made such a noise outloud until she whipped her head around, her eyes staring him down. The air was tense and he felt it. He wanted to scream, yell, but he wanted to smile and laugh. Hell he was an emotional turmoil in a matter of five minutes.

"What?" She narrowed her eyes, glaring at him.

He shrugged his shoulders, but then released his harsh face with a small grin, "You plan on saying good-bye this time Wildcat?"

Rika rolled her eyes, chuckeling a bit. "Nicknames? Seriously how old are we?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Twenty-two in counting."

"Yeah. Yeah." Rika turned around, ignoring his presence.

Henry was watching the two. She was stubborn, he was careful. They both had their guards up towards each other and neither of them were planning on letting it down. If only she knew exactly what she was getting herself into, especially since they had all grown up and matured quite a bit.

"Oh Rika, I have to ask you a question." Alice walked over to Rika and smiled.

"Go ahead." Rika raised her eyebrows, examining her manicure on her fingers. She was pretending to be interested, but the only thing she was interested in was the looks that Ryo was shooting towards her way.

Alice smiled, "Would you like to be a bridesmaide in my wedding next weeking?"

Rika's eyes widened, "Oh uhh- I couldn't."

"Why not?" Henry piped up, sticking his head into the conversation. He knew Alice was going to ask her, she had thought about it at the house since her cousin from Australia was not going to be able to make it to Japan due to the tropical storms and expenses of airfare.

Rika sheepishly rubbed her arm and shrugged her shoulders, "You know, I haven't been around here in awhile. Besides I don't even have a dress or anything and besides uhh-"

Jerri took her turn to speak, always nice as possible. "Oh don't worry Rika, you will be fine."

Alice nodded her head, "Besides, my cousin can't come and I already got her dress. She is the same size as you, so you will fit into the dress just fine, will you?"

Rika gave in, "Sure."

"Great." Alice sumerged a smile on her face.

Henry raised his eyebrows, "Actually you and Ryo will be walking together?"

"What." Rika and Ryo chocked out in unision. Rika turned at Ryo sending him a quick glare before turning her attention back on the soon-to-be married couple. If it hadn't been for Ryo and his necessities as a teenage male, Rika would have never had to leave. She knew she shouldn't be mad at Ryo, and if anything he should hate her for leaving, but she was beyond angry.

"You're kidding right?" Ryo asked, frowning upon Alice's and Henry's sudden decision. It was like his odds were against him.

Henry shook his head back and forth, "Well Susi is walking with Kenta, Jerri is walking with Takato, Kazu is walking with Ariel, Alice's younger sister, and you have to walk with Rika. Sorry, it's how it has to go."

Alice grinned, patting Rika's back, "Don't worry, it will be a short walk, nothing anything to fret about."

Rika rolled her eyes, "Yeah nothing to worry about huh?"

Ryo sat down in the booth, crossing his arms over his chest. He twirled his straw through his Coca Cola, swirling the ice chunks around. The drink represented his mood at that moment; mixed, swirling, and cold.

Kazu sighed, "Alright folks what are we going to do. I'm bored already."

Rika scoffed, same old Kazu. "Course you are."

Ryo stood up, shoving his way out of the booth, "I need a drink already."

Henry yawned, "You aren't the only one. How about lets go to the bars? Everyone up for that." Henry looked around noticing nobody opposed his decision. He eyed Rika, reading into her thoughts silently.

"Rika are you okay with that?" Jerri piped up, making sure it was okay with their old friend.

"Sure." Rika smiled softly.

**[][][]**

It was karoke night at the bar, and all of the drunks were already singing and swaying to the horrible sounds they were squealing from their mouths. Rika thought her ears were going to explode. She sat down on the bar stool, taking a notice of her surroundings. The bar tender wasn't bad looking, there was a lot of girls in the bar, most of them were smoking and swaying their bare legs around poles or griding on the male next to them, and lastly, Kazu was in line to sing a song. What was this world coming to?'

"Not use to getting out a lot huh?" Henry spoke up, offering Rika as he held out a drink in his hand for the girl to take.

She shook her head no, "No thanks. I don't drink."

Henry shrugged, "You have never drank?"

"Not in a long time."

"Well you are now. Here take this." Henry forced the drink into Rika's hand. She frowned and took a sip, making a funny face as the alcohol burned down her esophagus. "It tastes sour." She groaned, placing the drink down onto the bar table.

Henry chuckled, "Is this the first night you have been away from Alexis?"

"No, but this is the first night I have really been out with friends in a long time. Normally I have her everywhere I go, she is always attached to me at my hip. I keep glancing around, forgetting that she isn't here with me. She better be getting to bed soon. I don't like her staying up late." Rika said after she took another gulp of the alcohol that she wasn't suppose to consume.

He titled his head, "You are a good mom, you know that?"

Rika smiled to herself, it was nice when she heard that from people. She did everything in her will power to give Alexis the best life possible, and if it wasn't for her dad, that would have never been possible. "Thanks."

"Henry! Come play pool." Takato yelled, waiving Henry over so they could play on teams of two; Henry and Takato versus Alice and Jerri.

A lot had changed since Rika had left, she felt like an outcast and a stranger. Afterall she was the one who left her friends, yet it felt like they had left her. She wans't use to seeing either of them.

"Let me buy you a drink." Ryo plopped down onto a nearby barstool, located to the left of Rika.

Rika turned at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure." Not that he was going to give her a choice or anything. He was Ryo Akiyama, always stubborn and he always had his mind made up before he even did something... just like she.

Ryo turned his attention onto the bar tender who was mixing up some drinks for several of his annual costumers. "I need two Jacks please."

The guy nodded his head and went onto making their drinks after handing his previous costumers their drinks. "That girl is a real pretty one you know that." He mentioned, handing Ryo the glasses.

Ryo nervously nodded his head. "Yeah I guess."

"Treat her well man, she looks a little lost." The bar tender hummed to himself and walked away without another word. What did he mean Rika looked a little lost? The girl looked like she was impossible to approach. She stared off into the bar, forgetting that he was even there.

"Here." Ryo placed the drink down in front of her.

"Thanks." Rika urged the guilty smile onto her face. Seeing Ryo was a lot harder than she ever had expected. She wanted to scream, yell at life for making it hard for them. At the same time she wanted to hit him for everything that he had done. No matter how much she wanted to yell, she wanted to throw her arms around him and beg for forgiveness. The worst part of it all was, she was not okay with the feelings that she had.

"How is life?" Ryo blurted out, the question tugging at his mind. He was a nervous wreck as the only thing he thought about was Rika. She was in his presence, the same Channel21 perfume envoloping her body.

Rika shrugged her shoulders, "Great. As for yourself?"

"Yeah same." Ryo exclaimed, pretending that his life had been the best thing ever without her. If only she knew that was the complete opposite.

"I noticed that you have a great basketball career in your hands. Grandma told me about it when she came to Jersey a few days ago." Rika gripped her hands on the glass of Jack. Her grip was suddenly getting tighter and tighter to keep her emotions intact. She would not fall and she would not give in to the pressure.

"Oh yeah, it's great. Wait New Jersey? Like as in America." Ryo had raised his unplucked eyebrows in a quick manner, suddenly wondering if that had been where Rika had been all of these years.

Rika nodded her head, "Yeah my dad-" Her sentence stopped when the glass shattered in her hand, shaking both she and Ryo's thoughts from her head. The alcohol and glass went everywhere, gathering a few people's attention.

"Shit. Sorry." Rika muttered trying to clean up the mess with a handful of napkins that were lying on the table beside her.

Ryo's eyes widened in shock as she had just shattered a glass. "Rika." Ryo exclaimed grabbing her hand quickly and began to try and examine the cuts.

Rika shook her hand out of his grip, staring at it. Blood was running down her hand and she picked the chunk of glass out of her palm. She winced in pain as there was shards of glass resting in her hand. "Shit." Rika groaned, getting up from the stool.

"I need a bandaid." Rika said very well knowing she carried some in her purse. Alexis was always tripping over things and hurting herself on a daily basis.

Ryo grabbed her hand again, silently wincing at the severe cuts that were on her hand. "No you need stiches. Trust me I have seen plenty of cuts to know."

Rika sighed, looking out into the crowd as Henry was so involved with his game of Pool with Takato, Alice, and Jerri that he didn't even hear the loud noise come from across the room.

"I guess. I'll drive over to the hospital." Rika sighed, not really wanting to go, but she knew she had too. She lost her control as she was about to tell Ryo that she was with her dad and everything. It was to much for her to tell and to much for him to know. What had happened with her was her business, not his.

"I'll drive you." Ryo suggested, following behind Rika to the door.

Rika turned around, facing him, "No I can drive."

"No, you really shouldn't. It is your left hand, and you are left handed."

"Yeah well I can use my right."

Ryo stared her down, not letting go of the arguement.

"No, you are not driving and that is final. So come on."

Rika groaned in protest but gave up the fight. "Fine, but we are using my vehicle."

Ryo shook his head, same old Rika.

**[][][]**

Ryo waited patiently for Rika to get out of the emergency room. He was worried about her hand and the look on her hand before she shattered the glass. She was about to say something about her dad and she never had mentioned him before. That subject was just unnaproachable.

Soon enough, Rika walked out of the room with her doctor. His named tag read, Dr. Klizer. He looked young enough, maybe twenty-six or so. He had a flashy smile, and a goofy grin. "So you came from America right? I can tell a Jersey accent from anywhwere."

Rika grinned, examining her hand that was bandaged up. "Actually well, yes, but no. I moved there five years ago but I moved back you see."

"Ahh I see. Now be careful about that hand you see, it can easily be damanged. And I would hate for a pretty girl like you to have to come back in here." Dr. Kizler grinned, checking Rika out for one last time. She was a gorgeous girl, and he had this sudden urge to ask her out on a date. He raised his eyebrows at the guy sitting in the chair looking up at Rika in a loving concern.

"Is that your boyfriend?" He casually asked, sticking his hand into one of his front pockets.

Rika laughed, "No he's just an old time friend."

Dr. Kizler raised his eyebrows at the two. They looked a little more than friends. "Well how about this then, let me take you out to dinner on Thursday night?"

Rika shrugged her shoulders, what was the worst that could happen? "Sure."

She wasn't to keen on strangers, but since she had been home the whole idea of Ryo had been suffocating her and she needed an escape from it. "I wrote my number on the pages about your stiches. Call me for details." He winked at her before saying goodbye.

Ryo approached Rika, "That guy looked a little friendly, don't you think?"

"He asked me out for dinner." Rika shrugged her delicate shoulders, examining the guys number. "He's twenty-six."

"And you are twenty-two." Ryo laughed, wrapping his arm around Rika's shoulder. "They say, guys go for younger girl's because they are easy."

Rika pulled away, sending a harsh glare at the boy who was suddenly on her nerves. "Are you saying I'm easy Ryo?"

Ryo placed a hand over his heart and gasped, "Me say that, never?"

Rika smirked, hitting him in the stomach with her right hand. He gasped in pain and crouched over, "Yeah nothing has changed. You are still a violent girl."

The two walked out of the waiting room in silence. Each thought to themselves, everything has changed and so much more.

**[][][]**

I'm sorry for this such late update, I have been sick and Christmas and finals have been occupying all of my time. I guess they say, better late than never right? I wrote an extra long chapter for you guys. :)

Reviews are always welcomed, you guys rock already as it is :)


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